It might well appear relatively trivial to some people but to a teenager the appearance of acne can all too often seem to be the end of the world. Most teenagers will get acne at some time and, in many cases, it is reasonably mild and nothing more than irritating. In other cases however acne can prove to be severe and produce a poor body image and even serious depression. In every case however there are a variety of steps that you can take to help your teenager to deal with the problems of acne. One major problem with acne is that there are many myths about acne which your teenager is likely to hear in school or to pick up on things like the Internet. You need to therefore start by arming yourself with the truth and here are several of the main facts about exactly what causes acne and what can make an attack of acne worse: * Genetics � some children are quite simply more susceptible to acne no matter what they do. * Too much scrubbing � many kids think than cleaning their skin well will help to rid them of acne. While cleanliness is certainly important, scrubbing the skin too vigorously can both cause problems with existing pimples and also result in their spread. * Popping pimples � the majority of teenagers cannot resist the temptation to squeeze their pimples and this is one thing which we can probably all understand. Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that this may appear to help things look better in the short term, it is only going to make things worse in the longer term. * Diet � the precise link between diet and acne is not well understood at the moment but there is little doubt diet has an effect on acne. * Stress � when we find ourselves suffering from stress the chemical balance in our bodies is disturbed and this can add to the problems of teenage acne. * Makeup � many children, both girls and boys, will try to use makeup to hide their acne. This can however cause problems both in terms of the inability of the skin to breathe properly and of acne reacting to the makeup used. The first thing that your teenagers must understand is that acne is a normal part of growing up and, especially, of the hormonal changes which their bodies are going through. They also have to understand that some kids will be affected more than others and that, whether or not they are one of the lucky ones, this is merely a phase that will pass given time. Next, you kids have to be taught proper skin care and it is best to start this at an early age, and before acne appears if at all possible. However, if acne has already reared its ugly head it is still not too late and skin care is something that they need to both learn and practice. Children should wash their face each morning and again each evening with a mild soap and, when acne appears, with a specially formulated acne soap that can be purchased over-the counter at most supermarkets or drug stores. One important point to remember here is that washing twice a day is quite sufficient and that, although they may be tempted to wash more often this can dry the skin and make matters worse. Washing with acne soap will frequently be enough, although this is not an instant cure and your children will need to be both persistent and patient. If this does not work however you should talk to your doctor or consult a dermatologist. Your doctor or dermatologist may well suggest some form of prescription medication which your teenager will again need to use for quite some considerable period of time before it produces results. Unquestionably, the most important step you can take in helping your teenager to cope with acne is to start early. Your teenager may well be embarrassed by the arrival of acne and you may be reluctant to step in and help if they have only a pimple or two. Starting treatment early can however frequently stop the problem in its tracks and stop it from developing into a surprisingly serious condition.
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